CT HB05537

Revises standards for expert witness qualification in medical malpractice cases to clarify that similar health care providers include those with sufficient training and experience in related fields of medicine, effective October 1, 2010 for actions filed after that date.

Requires claimants or their attorneys to obtain a written opinion from a similar health care provider stating specific breaches of the prevailing professional standard of care before filing a medical negligence action, rather than requiring a detailed basis for the opinion.

Eliminates the requirement for written opinions in actions involving assault, lack of informed consent, or ordinary negligence unrelated to the rendering of care or treatment.

Provides a 30-day cure period for plaintiffs to remedy failure to obtain and file the required written opinion after being ordered by the court, and restricts defendants' motion to dismiss to within 30 days after the return date.

Specifies that written opinions used to demonstrate good faith belief in negligence cannot limit complaints or expert testimony, and clarifies that challenges to an expert's qualifications must occur after discovery completion as part of challenging the certificate's validity.